Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path & Individual karma vs collective Karma

Thich Nhat Hanh · July 20, 2011 · Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France · Audio Only Not yet reviewed

July 20, 2011, Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France. The sangha is in the annual Summer Opening Retreat.

Thay begins with a story of creation: God said, “Let there be light,” and the light said, “Wait.” “What are you waiting for?” “I’m waiting for the shadow and darkness in order to manifest together.” Light and darkness manifest together. There is no subject without object; the two have to manifest together, and object and subject are the same thing.

Buddha’s first teaching was on the Four Noble Truths: suffering, the creation of suffering, happiness, and the path to happiness. If we confirm the existence of ill-being, then we also confirm the opposite. This is Interbeing. The Eightfold Noble Path is presented, beginning with Right View. Thay elaborates on Right Thought, Right Speech and Right Action as the development of skillful means with regard to the three kinds of karma: mind, speech, and bodily action, and concludes with Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

What we call death is not really death. Our karma (our actions) continue after we are no longer here in this bodily form. We continue right now in the present moment through our actions. There are two kinds of retribution for our actions: ourselves (our five skandhas) and our environment. Our view on a global ethic is based on these teachings; we have a path and we don’t have to worry.

In a special session for children, Thay teaches the practice of relaxing the body, smiling to life, and seeing our parents inside. Using the image of a seed of corn, he shows how our parents are present in every cell of our body: we cannot separate the father from the son. The Buddha is also in us, and we can breathe with him when we breathe.

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The Corn Seed and the Memory of Continuation

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Father, Mother, and Buddha in Every Cell

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Light and Darkness Manifest Together

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The Four Noble Truths as Good News

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Right View and Right Thinking Beyond Duality

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No Birth, No Death, Only Continuation

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Thought, Speech, and Action as Our Continuation

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Right Livelihood, Collective Karma, and Our Environment

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